Container opening device

ABSTRACT

A TAB FOR ATTACHMENT TO A TEAR-OUT SECTION IN A CONTAINER WALL, WHICH TAB HAS A CUT LINE THEREIN AROUND THE SIDE OF ATTACHMENT APERATURE IN THE TAB ADJACENT THE HANDLE PORTION OF THE TAB AND TERMINATING ON A LINE THROUGH TEH CENTER OF THE ATTACHMENT APERATURE IN THE TAB TO FORM A HINGE LINE THROUGH THE APERATURE WHEREBY THE HANDLE PORTION OF THE TAB CAN BE ROTATED UPWARDLY ABOUT THE HINGE LINE TO FORM A RIGID LEVER WHICH CAN BE MANIPULATED TO INITIATE RUPTURE OF THE SCORE LINE ADJACENT THE ATTACHMENT OF THE TAB TO THE PANEL, AND THEN BE PULLED TO COMPLETE SERVERANCE OF THE TEAR-OUT PANEL.

Sept. 20, 1971 DUNN 3,606,075

coumman orrmme nBvIcE Filed Jan. 5, 197 0 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

FIG. 2.

INVENTOR. LLOYD 6. DUNN A! farnoy P 20, 1971 L. s. DUNN 3,606,015

CONTAINER OPENING DEVICE Filed Jan. 5, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 56 48 54: /aa "44' 5f 46 as mvew-rom LLOYD a. aumv Attorney United States Patent Oifice 3,606,075 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 3,606,075 CONTAINER OPENING DEVICE Lloyd Graham Dunn, Lower Burrell, Pa., assignor to Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pa. Filed Jan. 5, 1970, Ser. No. 730 Int. Cl. B65d 17/24 U.S. Cl. 220-54 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tab for attachment to a tear-out section in a container wall, which tab has a cut line therein around the side of attachment aperture in the tab adjacent the handle portion of the tab and terminating on a line through the center of the attachment aperture in the tab to form a hinge line through the aperture whereby the handle portion of the tab can be rotated upwardly about the hinge line to form a rigid lever which can be manipulated to initiate rupture of the score line adjacent the attachment of the tab to the panel, and then be pulled to complete severance of the tear-out panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A great variety of tabs are well known in the art for attachment to tear strips in container ends for manual severance of such tear strips. Tabs for such easy opening container ends are typically attached to the tear strip by means of integral rivets or the like and are lifted to initiate rupture of the score around the tear strip and then pulled to effect complete severance of the tear strip from the container end. Such tabs usually function as levers either to lift the attachment means or to depress the tear strip along the score line to initiate rupture of the score line. After initial rupture of the score line, further pulling of the tab completes severance of the tear strip from the container end. In order to function as a lever, the tabs must be sufficiently rigid to apply the required force to the rivet and to the tear strip when the tab is lifted.

Consequently, lever acting tabs have typically been formed of relatively heavy gauge sheet material and have been reinforced by means of ribs, beads and the like to provide a rigid lever. With such tabs, it has sometimes been diflicult to lift the tab from the unopened position flat on the container wall to a partially raised position above the surface of the can end in order to get a good grip on the tab for further lifting or manipulation thereof to initiate rupture of the score line. Various attempts have been made to remedy this situation. For example, upwardly projecting embossments have been formed in can ends to hold an attached tab above the surface of the can end and thereby facilitate gripping the tab. Bendable attachment ears have also been provided on tabs to permit fulcruming of such tabs a short distance above the surface of the can end before resistance to opening is encountered. It is desirable, however, to provide a tab which is more easily manipulated for initation of opening of an easy opening device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a tab for attachment to a removable panel portion of a container wall, which tab has a cut line therein around the side of the attachment aperture adjacent the handle portion of the tab to provide a hinge line through the attachment of the tab to the removable panel and through the ends of the out line to permit rotation of the handle portion of the tab upwardly about such hinge line to form a rigid lever which can be manipulated in the plane of such handle portion to rupture the score line at the starting end of the tear strip, and thereafter be pulled to complete severance of at least apportion of the removable panel. Manipulation of the rigid lever formed by the tab may either lift the attachment means and the tear strip to rupture the score line around the starting end of a tear strip, or may depress the removable panel adjacent the score line to initiate rupture of the score line.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved tab for attachment to a removable panel in a container wall.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container wall having an improved tab attached to a removable portion thereof to facilitate manual severance of such portion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a thin gauge metal tab that will function as a rigid lever to be manipulated to remove at least a portion of a container wall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated with reference to the following description and figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a container end made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line IIIIII of FIG. 1 subsequent to lifting of the handle portion of the tab shown in FIG. 1;

'FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing initial manipulation of the tab to rupture the score line in the container end;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a partially open container;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an alternative configuration of an opening device constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line VIIVII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the opening device of FIG. 6 subsequent to lifting of the handle end of the tab shown in that figure;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 8 showing initial manipulation of the tab to initiate rupture of the score line in the container end; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating partial opening of the container end of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5, a container end 10 is illustrated having a tear-out panel section 12' therein, defined by score line 20, and an improved tab 14 of the invention, attached to the removable panel section 12 by means of an integral rivet 16. Both the container end 10 and the tab 14 are made of sheet metal, and are preferably made of aluminum or an alloy thereof. Container end 10 is illustrated with a raised rim or chime 18 therearound for attachment to a container body by conventional means such as by double seaming. The score configuration selected for illustration is useful in connection with containers for liquids such as beverages and the like, but may assume other shapes or configurations as may be desired.

Tab 14 has a handle portion 22 and an attachment portion 24 with an aperture therein which receives an integral rivet 16 for attachment of the tab 14 to the tear strip 12, and has a cut line 26 therein between the handle portion and attachment portion to define a hinge line XX as is hereinafter described. The peripheral edge of the handle portion 22 of tab 14 may be turned or curled to form a bead 2'8 therearound, which bead is preferably turned up, as shown in FIG. 2, but may also be turned or curled under the tab. Bead 2 8 terminates short of hinge line X-X and does not interfere therewith. As attached to container end 10, tab 14 lies substantially flat on the surface of container end 10, but may be spaced slightly thereabove to facilitate insertion of a finger nail or finger under the tab to lift it.

Handle end 22 of tab 14 may be of a variety of configurations and may have various gripping and/or reinforcing structure therein in addition, or alternative, to bead 28. -In the embodiment selected for illustration, the handle end 22 of the tab is trapezoidal in shape and has a longitudinal axis which forms an included angle of approximately 60 with respect to hinge line XX through rivet 16. Such included angle is preferably in the range of 3075, but may be as great as 90. Bead 28 eliminates any sharp edges around the handle 22' which might cut the fingers of the user, and may also reinforce the handle end against bending although it is not required for such purpose since the tab 14 is designed so that it will bend only at hinge line XX, with or without stiffening. Tab 14 may also be attached to the starting end of elongated tear strip 12 in a variety of orientations with respect to the direction of the tear strip as will be explained.

Heretofore, rigid lever type opening devices have sometimes been awkward and difficult to initially lift from the surface of container ends because of. the necessary rigidity of the opening devices. When such rigid devices are positioned generally flat on container ends, there has been insufiicient space for the user to get a good grip on the tab to manipulate it, and it has been difiicult to raise the tab above the end surface to provide additional space for gripping the tab. The present invention eliminates this difficulty by providing hinge line XX in the tab such that the handle portion 22 of the tab can be easily rotated upward for convenient access thereto for subsequent manipulation to rupture the score line 20.

To provide the hinge line XX in tab 14, i.e., a line of least resistance to bending of the tab, the tab is incised or slit around the side of rivet attachment 16- adjacent or toward the handle portion '22 of the tab. Such slit, as generally indicated at 26, is preferably cut through the metal tab but may be in the form of a score or other weakening which can be easily ruptured. Slit 26 is preferably C-shaped as illustrated, but may be given other configurations such as square cup-shaped or chevronshaped. Small circular holes 34 and 36, or other configurations, may be provided at the ends of the slit 26 to prevent tearing of the metal at such ends when the tab is manipulated. Hinge line XX passes through the center of rivet attachment 16 and through two bridges or ligaments 30, 3'2 of metal in tab 14 outwardly of the ends of the slit. Ligaments 30, 32 are relatively narrow, and are designed to be easily bent when the handle portion 22 is lifted from the surface of the container end.

To open container end 10, handle portion 22 is hinged from its generally flat position against the container end wall shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to an upright position shown in FIG. 3, bending ligaments 30 and 32 in so doing. Handle portion 22 remains attached to the attachment portion 24 through the metal ligaments 30 and 32, and attachment portion '24 remains attached to the tear strip 12 by means of integral rivet 16. Inasmuch as the only resistance to such hinging is the relatively low force required to bend metal ligaments 30 and 32, such hinging applies only a small lifting force to rivet 16 and to tear strip 1-2, and does not rupture score line 20. This is particularly true with a tab which is formed to relatively thin sheet material and which has relatively narrow ligaments of. metal 30, 32 between the ends of slit .26 and the edge of the tab. Additional weakening may, however, be provided along ligaments 30 and 32 to further minimize such bending force, if desired.

In the raised position with handle 22 upstanding from the surface of container end 10 above rivet 16 and straddling score line 20 on at least one side of tear strip 12, tab 14 forms a rigid lever which is easily accessible for firm gripping and manipulation to initiate rupture of the score line at the starting end of the tear strip. To initiate rupture of score line 20, handle portion 22 of tab 14 may be either pushed or pulled in the vertical plane of the handle portion to fulcrum the tab about an outer corner thereof, and thereby lift attachment rivet 16 and tear strip 12'. Referring to FIG. 4, the handle portion 22 of tab 14 is shown being moved in the direction indicated by the arrow (right and up) to fulcrum the tab about the right hand corner of the tab and rupture score line .20 on the left hand side of rivet 16. Handle portion 2 2 of tab 14 could also be moved to the left to fulcrum about the left hand corner of the tab and rupture the score line on the right hand side of the rivet, but with a tab having its longitudinal axis disposed at an angle with respect to the container end wall, it is more natural to lift the tab slightly and rotate it to the right as illustrated.

If tab 14 was attached to the container end with hinge line XX at any other orientation with respect to elongated tear strip 12, initiation of rupture of score line 20 would, with one exception, be identical to that just described. The one exception occurs when hinge line XX is aligned with, or substantially parallel to, the major axis of the tear strip 12, and with score line 20 located under only one side of the tab. In this tab position, the handle portion of the tab must be moved to fulcrum it on the corner thereof opposite said score line so that the tear strip will be lifted at the score line to rupture the same.

Since the tab 14 is moved in the vertical plane of the tab handle 22. to initiate rupture of score line 20, rather than being moved perpendicular to the plane of the tab handle as has been conventional, the tab is very rigid against bending during such manipulation. Consequently, a tab formed in accordance with the invention can be made of relatively thin sheet metal compared to conventional tabs, and facilitates a metal savings over that re quired for conventional tabs.

After tab 14 has been moved or rotated in the plane of handle portion of the tab to effect initial rupture of score line 20, the tab may be pulled as shown in FIG. 5 to effect progressive severance of tear strip 12 from container end 10. Tear strip 12 can thereby be completely removed from the container end wall to leave a pouring orifice therein.

An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 6 through 10. In this embodiment, a container end 40 has a full pull-out panel portion 42 therein defined by score line around the periphery of the container end Wall, and has a tab 44 attached to the removable panel portion by means of an integral rivet 46. Container end 40 may be secured on a container 41 by means of a double seam 48 as best shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Tab 44 has a handle portion 52 with a relatively large aperture 53 therein for facilitating gripping and manipulation of the tab, and has an attachment portion 54 with an aperture therein for receiving rivet 46 for attachment of the tab to container end 40. Handle portion 52 may have its edges turned or curled to provide an outer head 58 around its outer periphery, and an inner head around the periphery of the finger aperture 53 in the handle portion. The attachment portion 54 of the tab may also be curled around its outer edge to form a head 59 to reinforce that portion of the tab. Tab 44 is lanced or incised to form a slit 56 around the attachment rivet 46 on the handle side thereof so that handle portion 52 can be hinged upwardly about a hinge line Y-Y through rivet 46 and through the ends of slit 56. Preferably slit 56 is C-shaped, but may be of any configuration which would not unduly weaken the handle portion 52 of the tab 44. Small circular holes 62 and 64 may be provided at the end of slit 56 to prevent tearing of the metal in tab 44 during opening of container end 40. Hinge line YY may have additional weakening therein such as cutouts 66, 68 and 70 to facilitate bending of tab 44 along such line YY when the handle end is rotated to a vertical position.

As shown in FIG. 6, the longitudinal axis of handle portion 52 of tab 44 forms an included angle A of approximately 35 with hinge line YY. Consequently, when handle 52 is rotated upwardly about hinge line YY, finger aperture 53 is located over the central portion of container end and offset on the opposite side of attachment rivet 46 from score line 50 adjacent the rivet. As offset with respect to rivet 46 and score line 50, a lifting force applied to finger aperture 53 in the plane of the handle portion of tab 44 will fulcrum tab 44 about rivet 46 and depress removable panel 42 adjacent score line 50 to initiate rupture of the score line as shown in FIG. 9. After initial rupture of score line 50, further lifting of tab 44 will effect progressive severance of the removable panel portion 42 from container end 40 as illustrated in FIG. 10. Complete removal of panel portion 42 can thereby be effected.

It is therefore seen that an improved tab has been described and illustrated which can be easily lifted from its initially flat position on a container end to a substantially vertical position where it is easily accessible for firm gripping, and can thereafter be manipulated to effect initial rupture of a score line. Whereas tabs have typically been formed from sheet metal 0.015, or more, inch thick, the improved tab of the invention provides a rigid lever formed from sheet metal 0.012, or less, inch thick.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that numerous variations can be made therein within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tab for attachment to a tear-out section in a container wall for manual severance of the section, comprising a handle portion and an attachment portion with an aperture therein for receiving means for attaching the tab to a tear-out section, said tab having a out line therein around the side of the aperture adjacent said handle portion of the tab and terminating on a line through the center of the aperture to provide a hinge line in the tab through the ends of said out line, whereby said tab, when attached to a tearout section, is adapted to have said handle portion hinged upwardly about said hinge line into a plane normal to the tear-out section for forming a rigid lever which can be manipulated in the plane of said handle portion to initiate severance of the tear-out section.

2. A tab as set forth in claim 1 in which said out line is C-shaped.

3. A tab as set forth in claim 1 which the outer edge of said handle portion is turned to form a bead therearound.

4. A tab as set forth in claim 1 in which the longitudinal axis of said handle portion forms an angle with said hinge line in the range of 30 to 90.

5. In combination, a container Wall having a score line therein which defines a tear-out section in said wall, and a tab attached to said tear-out section for manual severance of said section, said tab comprising a handle portion and an attachment portion attached to said tear-out section by an attachment means, and having a cut line in said tab around the side of said attachment means adjacent said handle portion and terminating on a line through the center of the attachment means to provide a hinge line in the tab through the ends of the out line, whereby said tab can be hinged upwardly about said hinge line to form a rigid lever which can be manipulated in the plane of the handle portion to initiate severance of the tear-out section.

6. A combination as set forth in claim 5 in which said score line defines a full tear-out panel in said container wall and said tab is attached to said tear-out panel adjacent the edge thereof with said hinge line substantially perpendicular to a line tangent to the score line adjacent said attachment means.

7. A combination as set forth in claim 6 in which the longitudinal axis of said handle portion of said tab forms an angle with said hinge line in the range of 30 to 8. A combination as set forth in claim 6 in which the edge of said tab adjacent one end of the hinge line overlies said tear-out panel adjacent said score line.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,221,924 12/ 1965 Harvey et a1 220-48X 3,322,297 5/1967 Stolle et a1 220-54 3,411,662 11/1968 Silver 220-54 GEORGE T. HALL, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 220-47 

